Barely 11 months after taking over as president and chief executive officer of the Livestrong Foundation, Chandini Portteus abruptly resigned on Tuesday to “focus on her personal life and family.”
The resignation, effective immediately, was announced in a blog post by foundation Board Chair Candice Aaron. “We have accepted her resignation, effectively immediately. We truly appreciate her efforts and wish her the absolute best in the future. The Board of Directors is committed to the mission of this organization and dedicated to making the transition as smooth as possible,” she said.
Chief Financial Officer Greg Lee will assume duties of president. There are no plans to search for a new CEO. “Greg has served as our outstanding CFO for nearly 10 years and the board appreciates his willingness to lead us through this transition,” Aron said. Prior to joining Livestrong almost 10 years ago, Lee was manager of finance and administration for The University of Texas Investment Management Company, responsible for finance, accounting and compliance. He managed more than $21 billion in investments for The University of Texas System. He also was vice president of finance and business operations for the American Heart Association.
Portteus spent nearly a decade at Dallas-based Susan G. Komen for the Cure before becoming chief executive at Livestrong in April, succeeding Doug Ulman. He left to lead Pelotonia, a Columbus, Ohio-based cancer biking charity, in January 2015.
“It has been a privilege and an honor serving the Livestrong Foundation. At this time, I am concluding my leadership for personal reasons in order to focus on my family. I will continue to support the organization and its mission and I’m proud of what we have achieved together,” Portteus said via a statement provided by the charity.
Livestrong has continued to see total revenue decline in recent years, by as much as half in the past three years. It’s likely as a result of fallout from the Lance Armstrong doping scandal that came to a head 2012, in which the charity’s founder and seven-time winner of the Tour de France admitted to doping during his cycling career.
The Austin, Texas-based charity reported $16.5 million in total revenue on its most recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990, filed in November and covering 2014. That’s down from $23 million in 2013 and $38 million in 2012. Contributions declined from $22.6 million in 2012 to $12 million in 2014.
Listen to an episode of NPT Lunch Truck featuring Portteus that aired last fall.
